Andy Reid has slowly but surely become one of the best coaches in the NFL.
After not being able to get over the hump during his 14 years in Philadelphia, both Reid and the Eagles separately ended their Super Bowl droughts with championships within the past five years.
Reid has started to get the recognition that he deserves and he could go down as one of the best NFL coaches of all time – that is if he’s not there already.
Danny Parkins and Andrew Fillipponi of the Audacy Original Podcast “1st & Pod” talked about Reid’s legacy and how soon he might climb to the top of the all-time coaching ranks.
“I think Andy Reid, health notwithstanding, he’s got 14 years with the Eagles and 10 with the Chiefs. I could easily see him going 14 and 14 or even more with the Chiefs than the Eagles. Why couldn’t he coach into his 70s if he’s healthy?” Parkins said (6:25 in player above). “If he coaches another five years, he will definitively be a top-10 coach of all-time – he’s already the second-best coach of his era, but he’ll have a shot at being considered a top-five coach of all-time.”
Reid compiled a record of 130-93-1 during his 14 seasons with the Eagles and went 10-9 in the playoffs, but he could never win the big game. The Eagles lost in the NFC Championship Game four times under Reid and lost in their one Super Bowl appearance with Big Red at the helm.
Coaches like Vince Lombardi, Bill Belichick, and Don Shula are obviously above Reid as of now, but a few more seasons with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback could put the Chiefs head coach over the top.
“He’s going to have a chance here in the not-so-distant future to climb that ladder up all the way to the second spot,” Fillipponi said.
Reid already has the fifth-most wins by an NFL coach in history at 247 and is just three wins shy of Tom Landry’s 250. After that, however, Belichick holds steady in third with 298 career victories.
It’s not just about the volume of wins, though, Reid was ahead of his time and was able to get the best out of his quarterbacks.
“Andy Reid is a miracle worker and they were insane at the time for how they felt about him. Andy Reid was ahead of the game. Remember the thing with him was like he doesn’t run the ball, he likes to pass it too much,” Parkins said. “Now it’s a passing league. He was ahead of his time.”
Kevin Kolb, Jeff Garcia, Alex Smith, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and of course Mahomes all had their best – either statistically or winningest – season under Reid’s watch.
“As soon as he got a great quarterback, he started setting records, winning a ring, and getting MVPs for his guy,” Parkins said. “And no one even talks about him – he was not a Coach of the Year finalist. Won 14 games, number one offense in the NFL, no Tyreek Hill. Not even a finalist.”
While Reid’s failure to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia tainted his time there, we’re able to look back on it in a different light after his success with the Chiefs.
“I think the Eagles winning a Super Bowl and I think Reid winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs puts his time in Philadelphia in a different kind of – paints it in a new light,” Fillipponi said. “I think that there’s more appreciation for those years where they would get to NFC Championship Games and come up short, and the Super Bowl loss to the Patriots now that Philly has a Super Bowl and Reid isn’t looked at as a guy who never won the big game.”
Philadelphia is hoping that Reid can look like that guy that never won a big game this Sunday when the Eagles face off against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
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